Creating safer, more respectful workplaces for young people
We collaborated with Our Watch to put young people at the centre of designing safer and more inclusive workplaces.
Opportunity
Workplaces should be places where everyone feels safe, valued, and respected. Yet for many young people, this isn’t always the case. Our Watch, a national leader in the prevention of violence against women, recognised the urgent need to address issues of safety, gender equality, and respect in the workplace, particularly for young employees. They partnered with YLab to tap into the insights and lived experiences of young Australians, aiming to find practical ways to create healthier, more inclusive work environments.
Challenge
Despite growing awareness around issues like workplace harassment and inequality, many young people still face environments that don’t prioritise their safety or well-being. Discrimination, lack of clear policies, and poor support systems leave young employees—especially women and minority groups—feeling vulnerable and unsupported. While organisations are making progress, young people’s voices often go unheard in conversations about how to improve workplace culture. Our Watch wanted to change this by centring young people in the conversation and ensuring their experiences and ideas helped shape meaningful change.
Approach
Together with Our Watch, YLab designed a project that would provide young people the opportunity to lead the conversation about workplace safety and respect. We conducted a combination of research and one-on-one interviews with a diverse group of young people, aged 15-24, from across Australia to gain a deeper understanding of their lived experiences and perspectives on creating safer and more inclusive workplaces for young people. This approach allowed us to deeply explore their pathways and, more importantly, understand what they believe needs to change.
The project focused on three key areas:
Safety: What does feeling safe at work mean to young people, and what can employers do to make it a reality?
Gender Equality: How can workplaces better promote gender equality, and what barriers still exist for women and non-binary individuals?
Respect: What does respect look like in the workplace, and how can organisations foster a culture where everyone feels valued?
By framing the project around these key themes, we were able to move beyond identifying issues to clearly articulate young people’s priorities for change.
Graphic recording of a Practice Forum hosted by Our Watch and YLab on Preventing Sexual Harassment of Young Employees. The forum featured a panel discussion with three young participants from the project.
Outcomes
Through these conversations young people identified three areas where employers could take action:
Physical and Psychological Safety
Young people talked about the importance of both physical safety—like proper training and clear policies—and emotional safety. They want workplaces where they can voice concerns without fear of retaliation. Employers need to provide accessible channels for reporting issues and ensure staff feel protected when they do so.
Gender Equality
The experiences of gender discrimination were unfortunately all too common. Whether it was unequal pay, lack of women in leadership roles, or gendered assumptions about job capabilities, young people want workplaces to address these disparities head-on. Clear, enforceable policies that actively challenge gender stereotypes are crucial.
Respect
Feeling respected at work is more than just being treated politely. It’s about creating an environment where contributions are valued, diversity is embraced, and discriminatory behaviours are called out. Young people emphasised the need for respectful interactions and for employers to enforce strong anti-harassment policies.
From these insights, YLab and Our Watch developed a set of actionable recommendations for employers. This includes fostering more inclusive, co-designed workplace policies, offering regular training on issues like sexism and positive masculinity, and creating safe reporting mechanisms that are anonymous and trusted.
Impact
This project gave young people a platform to speak openly about their experiences and, importantly, provided employers with practical steps they can take to create more respectful and equitable workplaces. By putting young voices at the centre of the conversation, the insights gathered have already begun influencing how organisations approach workplace culture.
As one young participant shared:
“You spend more time at work than you do at home, so it’s important to feel safe and accepted there. If you don’t, you can’t bring your whole self to work, and that affects everything.”
Looking Ahead
By working with Our Watch, YLab helped create a blueprint for how to involve young people in shaping safer, more inclusive workplaces. This is about more than just policies on paper—it’s about changing cultures, attitudes, and behaviours to create spaces where everyone feels they belong. With these insights in hand, employers have a real opportunity to drive positive change, ensuring that the workplaces of tomorrow are safe, respectful, and empowering for everyone, especially young people.
This project is a testament to the power of listening to young voices. It’s clear that when young people are part of the solution, the impact is lasting and profound. Together, we’re helping to shape the future of work—one where respect, safety, and equality are non-negotiable.
Further Reading
Read more about the project in our Insights Paper here.